Thanks to Mike who posted a comment in the previous post asking about my choice of taking CELTA in Thailand, I thought it’d be helpful to others too, if I write a little about it. So, if you’re planning on doing the CELTA as well, I hope that this can help you in what little way it could.
The British Council Singapore also offers the CELTA course administered by Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. If you check out the CELTA course page here, you would see that taking it in Singapore costs $5,500. Including the Young Learners’ extension course at $3,305, you would be paying $8805.
Last year, I spent 5 weeks’ total in Thailand doing the exact same 2 courses. A return plane ticket, 3 meals a day, transportation, accomodation and a week of travelling to Huahin, a day in Ayutthaya plus some nights of partying and shopping cost me no more than $4000. Not forgetting that the accomodation had free laundry service, top-floor gym and a rooftop swimming pool.
So, apart from the British Council, there are 2 major schools you can do your CELTA at:
1) ECC Thailand
2) International House
I took mine at ECC Thailand. The course costs US$1600 and if you get the early-bird discount, you’ll only be paying US$1440. Also, they throw in the Young Learners’ extension FREE! I know! That word practically gets us Singaporeans high. We don’t care what it is, as long as it’s free huh. Haha…
I have no idea about the practical teaching classes if you do the course at the British Council in Singapore, but the students we had were refugees from Laos, Sri Lanka, Congo, Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Myanmar etc. These students do not share a common first language but one thing they’ve got in common is the horrific stories they have to tell. In the one month, not only did I manage to get my CELTA, I met these precious people who made me learn a lot more than what I thought I could’ve gotten out of the course.
As a close, allow me to make a brief comment about CELTA. I think it’s brilliant. If all language teachers were using the CELTA method, learning would be so much more fun and enjoyable.
Merry Christmas! =)
Thanks for the quick reply and the great piece of info!
I just checked out the CELTA price in different countries.
Thailand and Vietnam offer the best price at USD1600: SGD2000.
China (Wuhan) is next at GBP1150: SGD2310.
Korea (Seoul) is not too far off at KRW2150000: SGD2400.
ECC Thai is a great choice!
BTW, did you take it in Bangkok, Phuket or Chiang Mai?
You are one ultra resourceful person! =)
Wow, you’re pretty resourceful too. You got the prices of the course in so many places. I took the course in Bangkok. Well, I guess if you wanna experience life in Vietnam, it’s probably a good choice too. But the pragmatic Singaporean in me would still go for Thailand since the Vietnam Dong is pretty much valueless outside the country. If I were to go Vietnam, I’d make sure I spend every single Dong before I leave. But if you’re gonna travel Vietnam again, then it’s still as good a choice as Thailand.
hi, may i know which accommodation did you choose? 🙂 thanks!
Hi Li,
I stayed in a service apartment called Silom Lofts near Chong Nonsi station. You can visit their website here. http://www.silomlofts.com
It actually is kind of a luxury to be staying there because most other fellow CELTA trainees put up at rooms that cost them 10,000 baht (around $450) a month while this one cost 36,000 baht (around $1600) a month. But because I went with a friend, we shared the cost, which came up to only $800 a month. Putting things in perspective, the course is only a month anyway.
And I must say, the comforts of the room made life there so much easier for us as it provided an excellent environment for our studying, assignments and lesson preparations. Given another chance, I would still choose to stay there.
Hey Jin,
Reading your blog has definitely been inspiring; your resourcefulness is quite impressive. I recently got rejected from JET, but if anything it has only strengthened my resolve to teach there this year. I’ll be a fresh graduate saddled with loans in July so I’m afraid I will probably not be able to follow the exact same path you’ve paved for the rest of us.
I have a few questions though:
1) Is it truly necessary to obtain a student visa in Japan before looking for work?
2) How much do you think it would cost to obtain a CELTA on a much more conservative budget?
3) Would you happen to be know of any dispatch companies hiring people in my position?
The preliminary enquiries I’ve made have come up empty, and it’s proving to be frustrating. The one dispatch company that was accommodating told me that a working visa was a prerequisite, which is a bit of a Catch 22 situation really.
I thank you for taking the time to read this and look forward to hearing from you!
Hey Z,
Thanks for leaving a message. I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t get shortlisted for the JET programme. I’ll try my best to answer your questions.
1) No, it’s not necessary at all but as you might already have read in the other entries, I believe having a student visa increases your chances quite a bit because paperwork is much less and visa conversion takes less time than new visa application, so companies hiring you would have less work to do. Again, that does not mean it’s not possible to get work without a student visa. In fact, a Singaporean friend of mine actually went home after her studies and flew back to Japan on a tourist visa to look for work and she got it. So, don’t hold back.
2) Thailand offers one of the cheapest CELTA courses around the world and it is checked by officials from Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. If you don’t party, don’t travel and don’t stay in the kind of “luxurious” apartment that I did, you could probably get by with $3000~3500.
3) I don’t exactly know your position, so I don’t want to offer something that I do not know for certain. Also, I wouldn’t know which dispatch companies would be hiring whom. Since the academic year begins in April, I believe most companies would’ve filled up all their positions about now, though some do accept applications in case someone resigns suddenly. I think I’ll post the more detailed information on dispatch companies in the next entry so as to benefit others who may have the same questions. And if you don’t mind, could you please tell me which dispatch company contacted you?
Wow thanks for your reply and post on dispatch companies; it’s very much appreciated. Oh, and only RCS got back to me.
Am I to assume that their request for me to get a work visa before coming here is doublespeak for “get a job here first and then we’ll consider you”? Which is strange, since their site stated visa sponsorship was one of the benefits.
In any case, thank you for all your help!
No problem. I don’t know how much the entry could help but I just imagined if I were in your shoes, I’d want to know which companies granted interviews or offered positions. Anyway, I took a look at the site and realised you’re right. They did say that the benefits include visa sponsorship and full support in obtaining the necessary documents to legally work in Japan. I don’t know the situation and so I can’t really comment on that.
When did you apply with them? Perhaps because the academic year has begun, they cannot afford to take the time to apply for a work visa which takes over a month or two to be processed with no guarantee it will be approved.
Anyhow, I think it’d be a great idea to keep in regular contact with whomever responded to you. At the previous company I was at, I heard that an ALT kept in regular contact with the staff there when there were no positions available before he came to Japan. And when the company was beginning to hire again, they contacted him and brought him over and that was how he got started working here. Also, you could try applying to ALTIA Central. The interviewer’s a great person to talk to. I had a pleasant time with him during the interview and over email, he was really nice too.
There are smaller ALT dispatch firms around as well but maybe applying to be an ALT is better towards the end of the year when companies are hiring people to fill in slots. You can also try private language schools if you’re interested.
Hey again,
I sent in that RCS app last week, because they said they hired year-round. Their HR rep encouraged me to get in touch with them after getting a teaching certification or attaining a communicable level of Japanese so I guess I’ll consider that. I also submitted an application to ALTIA but got no response.
I had also strongly considered other options (Taiwan, PRC, Korea) but they all have that “Native speaker” requirement which unfortunately precludes me as I am Singaporean.
As it stands now it seems the smaller private schools are my best bet (Gaba, JES, etc).
wow, that does sound like RCS is giving you serious consideration.
all the best!
Hi,
Thanks for the reply!
I have signed up for CELTA with ECC Thailand (Phuket) and will be going there this month end! 🙂
However, valid stay for Singapore Passport holders is only 30 days. Did you apply for a special visa with the Thai Embassy? What kind of Visa would that be? The Embassy website is a little confusing to me (and the fact that no one is picking up my call!). Thanks a million!!!
Cheers,
Li
Hi Li,
I applied for an extension to the tourist visa at the Thai Embassy so that I could stay up to 60 days. It didn’t cost anything and apart from the application form and passport, I also had to show them that I had at least SGD$1,000 (just show them the cash). I don’t really remember what else I had to submit. You might want to try google for thai embassy and search on visa information. You might have to show proof of your air ticket purchase as well.
Thanks so much! That’s very helpful and sweet of you. Appreciate it! 🙂
Hi, I just wanna drop by and say a BIG THANK YOU to you for your useful blog, advice and replies! I’ve earned my CELTA with a provisional grade of a Pass B. 🙂
Although I took CELTA with the hope to teach in Japan, I very much wanted to be in Korea this time. However, the govt doesn’t grant us (holders of SG passports) teaching VISA – only native speakers from UK, USA and 5 others would be recognised. Oh well..
CELTA course has been a good challenge; and I’m really glad I went for it! Time to look for a teaching job in Japan!!!
Thanks, once again! Hope to see you in Japan! 🙂
Hi Li,
Congratulations on your Pass B! I’m glad to be of help.
Hmm… Korea huh. I’ve heard of that though I haven’t exactly tried applying for work there, I can’t say for sure. Did you try applying?
Well, hope things go well for your Japan plans. =)
Hi again! I just wanna say that after two rounds of Skype interviews, I’ve found a teaching job in an Eikaiwa – will be heading there in March! I will be in a rather rural place in Okayama Ken and I’m really looking forward to it.
Again, your advice has been tremendously helpful and encouraging! It really spurs hopefuls like me to work and persevere to realise this little dream to work and live in Japan. THANK YOU!
Hi Li,
I must say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to you! Okayama sounds like a nice place. At least it doesn’t sound like a huge refrigerator in winter. I hope you’ll like it there. =)
If I may ask, which Eikaiwa are you going to work at? Does it happen to be Berlitz?
I hope don’t mind the question ’cause I’d like to know more about what schools offer what kinds of interviews so I can consolidate the information and provide them in later entries. In other words, tell your story but of course not gonna write names without your consent.
Thank you! 🙂
Well, I would love to be in some rural places in Hokkaido (actually, any place in Hokkaido). I know… it’s a freezer in winter but I spent a few weeks there last year and I really love it there.
And nope, it’s not Berlitz. It’s a small Eikaiwa – I’m sorry I don’t feel comfortable sharing it here. Perhaps you could email me and I could fill you in with details so that you could tell the stories to your readers. 🙂
Please note there is now a second CELTA centre in Singapore. Heartpower started in late 2010.
hello, thanks for your reply on another CELTA related post! i have another question.. how beneficial is the young learners’ extension course? if i am CELTA certified, technically i am still able to teach students of all ages, no? correct me if i’m wrong, thanks! 🙂
Hi nann,
I actually agree with you but having gone through the young learners’ extension course, I came up with 2 conclusions.
1) The certification is basically useless
2) The course is very useful
The main thing I learnt from the extension course was the kind of lessons and activities you can do with young learners which is not something you would typically use in the CELTA course since “A” in “CELTA” refers to Adults. “Young Learners” typically refer to students children from around 4 to 16 I suppose, so you, more likely than not, wouldn’t use the same activities.
Hello.
This might b 3 years late, but I am interested in taking the CELTA in Thailand. Was Thai proficiency an issue? Like do you need to speak/read Thai?
Hi Kim,
No question is considered too late, unless my puny brain fails to remember T_T
Anyway, no you do not have to know a single word of Thai at all.
Thanks!
hi there
I’m planning to take the CELTA course in BKK sometime next march.
I’d like to know if people actually get rejected during the pre-course interview?
I won’t say i’m exceptionally good in the English language, but I’d like to get this certificate to teach in Thailand. I’m afraid I may get rejected. If in any case i am rejected, can I re-apply again?
May I know what questions do they ask and what should I prepare for the interview?
I also understand that they do test on your grammar too.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Cheers!
Hi yrf,
I do not know anyone who got rejected personally, but I think it is possible. I’m sure you can re-apply again if you take the interview test again. But I have to reiterate I am not speaking based on knowledge of such instances but based on assumptions. It’s probably not very useful huh?
I don’t remember what questions they ask, but it’s mostly based upon the written piece of test that you have to do before the phone interview. The questions mainly test your grammatical knowledge, as well as why you want to do the course, etc.
I would suggest you be clear about the answers you fill in the test sheet as they may ask you to further elaborate on them.
Bests,
hi Jinhan,
just to seek your views on this.. but is having a driving license useful/ essential to (finding) teaching jobs in japan? am currently taking driving lessons, and the plan is to go over in jul/ aug once i pass the test.. but that’d mean missing the main intake in apr. am torn between going over to japan asap, and getting the license so that there’ll be more options down the road..
Hi Ag,
It’s probably easier to move around with a car if you’re at the countryside, but most people I know teaching in the countryside do not have a driver’s licence or that they do but they don’t get a car. It really isn’t necessary to be able to drive. I used to take a little over an hour to travel to school by train and bus or bicycle. When I applied for a position with ALTIA which provides cars to their teachers, I wasn’t able to use an International Driving Permit (IDP) since I had been in Japan for more than a year by then. Plus the fact that I was living in Nagoya, the company decided to assign me to junior high schools in Nagoya city instead (although I didn’t take up that job in the end) so I didn’t have to drive. But if you do know which school you will be teaching at, you can very well move near the area.
hi Jinhan,
thanks for your reply 🙂 am just concerned as quite a number of advertisers indicate a driving license as one of the requirements, and that sort of limits my options. will see how things pan out..
Hi Jin!
First of all, I want to say thank you to you because your blog posts has been a major help to me in finding ways how a “non-native speaker” like me could find a teaching job in Japan! 🙂
I was wondering whether it’s necessary to take CELTA if you have already obtained a teaching qualification from MOE in order to teach in Japan? Also, I would like your opinion on which one is better? I wanted to apply for CELTA but the one from British Council is kind of pricey!!! Ugh!
Thanks alot!
Hi FR,
No, you don’t have to take CELTA if you have a PGDE.
I still think CELTA helps but if you don’t want to spend that extra money on it, it is not necessary. CELTA is afterall just a cert, while PGDE is a post-grad diploma.
Hi jin!
Thank you so much for this informative post!
I have quite a few questions about your trip and your post-CELTA experience, I was wondering if we could correspond by e-mail as I have quite a few questions that I think someone of your experience could answer!
Looking forward to your e-mail!
Hi Khairul,
You can send me a mail through the contact page =)
Hi jinhan!
Thanks for the quick response!
I was hoping if you could give some of your comments/opinions on my current situation.
I’m currently a Chemical Engineering Diploma holder taking a part-time BA in English Language and Literature from UniSIM (Currently 2nd year)
While I hold a comfortable job in a field I dislike now(ChemEng), I intend to resign in a month once I apply for CELTA in Chiang Mai this coming Monday (hopefully the application is accepted).
The reason I’m taking the CELTA is because my ultimate dream is to end up in MOE as a fully fledged teacher (I worked as a school lab technician in a sec sch before).
I understand that they look at both your poly grades and your uni grades for the application. I have terrible poly grades (GPA 2.0) but my grades for my BA in Eng Lang is in the first class range (not sure how much a first class even means since its UniSIM and not one of the big 4 local unis). I hope to apply as a MOE teacher once I successfully complete my BA and hopefully my CELTA will help supplement my application, and drown out the fact that I’m have an engineering background.
So my first question here is, do you know any non-degree holders, Singaporean (or non-native speakers) who have managed to get a teaching job (whether with MOE or private institutions) in Singapore with a CELTA? How much (in your opinion – which based on your blog, I find to be quite extensive from your travels and experiences) does a CELTA help in Singapore applications to be a teacher since CELTA is mostly catered as a ESL kind of teaching method whereas our first language in SG is already English.
My second question is this: I’m now quite anxious for the coming CELTA interview, I have done alot of research online and the one that is most likely to strike me dumb is the grammar test and the Skype interview where they ask you things based on your application. I have heard they ask tricky questions like “Why is it headache and not head ache”, things like these, I understand that us Singaporeans merely memorize and don’t actively think about back when we were learning.
Additionally, I still have 2 years to go before I obtain my BA, do you think that that will be an issue in my CELTA application? I’ve read on some forums that there were occasions where applicants without degrees passed the tests but were rejected on the basis that they had no degrees…
Also, do you have any tips on acing the pre-application tests+skype interview?
Some background information about me, I am a 25 year old SG male who is deeply jaded from my engineering career and decided it was time to do something about it, so I enrolled in UniSIM. I’ve kinda had enough with my job so I’m going to take the plunge with CELTA with about 5k savings to try and toll me through. I believe I should be able to survive post-CELTA with private tuition here and there and hopefully I can land some temp teaching job with a CELTA as an undergraduate?
What do you think bro, any opinion whether critical/supportive is going to be appreciated.
Also, you think once got CELTA, can charge private tuition higher or not ah(put on your tutor apps that you got conferred a certification from Cambridge to teach English leh, should wow the parents haha)
PS: Sent here as well since I’m at work and have terrible internet connection, not sure whether my contact page submission went through
Hi K,
I did receive your email but since you left the comment here, I thought it’s better to reply here. My first option is always for questions to be asked in the comments section instead of email since if one person has that question, probably many others have similar questions and responding here means everyone can see.
First, I had no idea that poly grades are taken into account when applying to NIE, but I’ll take your word for it. Also, I would see your first class honours at UniSIM as a big plus more than anything. To be honest, I don’t understand the purpose of trying to drown out the fact that you have an engineering background. It probably doesn’t matter what your background is. I have poly friends who majored in Business and IT teaching at public schools. None of their diplomas are in anyway related to what they are teaching. But given that your poly GPA was at 2.0, your current first class honours level degree would put you in a much much better position.
Second, I could be wrong but I believe that to teach with the MOE, one has to go through NIE which actually gives you a BA or BSc. and a PGDE. CELTA is very helpful if you are looking to teach English at private language schools to speakers of foreign languages, but may not offer much for teaching native speakers. If you look at some of the teaching requirements at foreign countries, they usually value a PGDE over a CELTA, because after all, how can a certificate compare with a post-graduate diploma in education? But it’s a different story if you get the DELTA since it is a highly valued diploma for ESL teaching.
Regarding the interview, I’m going to be frank with you. I didn’t do well at the phone interview to the CELTA course. In fact, the exact words of the interviewer was, “we think your English may not be good enough for the course, but we’ll give you a try.” I went on to top the cohort of 18 members from the Big 7 English-speaking nations, many of whom had prior teaching experience. When I related that interview story to my course mates, they were like, “some people are dumb and judge your English level just because you have an Asian accent.”
I can’t say if not having a degree would be a problem enrolling to the CELTA, but a quick search on the International House Bangkok’s site reveals that “only candidates that have formal qualifications which would allow entry into higher education in their own country are likely to be successful in gaining a place on the course.” Since you already are in “higher education,” it shouldn’t be a problem. That’s my guess.
About the interview, if I can still remember clearly, they base the questions on your responses to the written test you submit. So, just be sure why you answered them that way, and you should be fine. Remember, I was told I wasn’t good enough for the course. So don’t get too disheartened if you don’t ace it.
As you said, CELTA is mainly for ESL teaching. If you intend to teach foreign students in Singapore, it will serve you well. There are also private English language schools who only hire teachers with either a CELTA or proper TESOL. But if you intend to go into MOE, a CELTA is not required. I’m not sure how much, if any, it would increase your value in applying for the NIE though.
Price-wise, I don’t think you should value your time and skills based on the qualifications you have. If you think you are worth $1000 an hour, you should charge that regardless of whether you have a CELTA or not. Don’t undercut yourself. Of course, I’m just using hyperbole to get my point across. You should check out the market price. Qualifications may be useful to back yourself up but only if you charge significantly over market price.
I charge what I charge because I think I can do something for my students. If you’re going to pay me $20 an hour then I’m sorry, go find someone else whose time and skill is only worth $20 an hour. Sure, I topped my CELTA course, have a BA in English Linguistics with Merit from NUS, scored full marks in TOEIC, taught with AEON corporate division, have experience teaching students from over 10 nations of all ages, and am a current sub-editor for an airline magazine on the side. But I would charge the same even if I do not have the CELTA or never scored full-marks at TOEIC for the simple reason that I believe I have something of value to offer that is worth more than $20. I once introduced a friend someone who only charges $20 an hour because that was how much she was willing to pay. Guess what? She had one lesson and that’s it, because she felt he wasn’t good at teaching. FYI, market price for private teaching in Japan is about $40 upwards, so if someone charges $20, it should be a reflection of something.
Conclusion: Do CELTA if you want to teach private to speakers of other languages. If your plan is MOE, I would suggest taking that $5k and invest it in something that gives you decent returns.
I really appreciate your thorough and well thought out reply jinhan!
A simple thank you can’t even suffice for the amount of insight you just gave me =)
Haha, I read your post on how you basically scored a Pass A for CELTA, that’s impressive considering how you are up against teachers from other nations and you didn’t have teaching experience.
I appreciate your TLDR conclusion. I’ve decided I will take the plunge with CELTA and hope I can get some sort of teaching stints in SG (will keep you updated) when I am done. My main focus is still on the PGDE but tbh, I want to do the CELTA as I think it’s a good cert to have to keep my options open; I also enjoy teaching of any form.
Just a few more questions that I hope you can entertain me with as your credentials and experiences are really impressive =)
1) do you have any creative/interesting ideas on how to get students for private tutoring (I don’t really want to sign up for an agency as I’ve heard awful remarks on agencies, I could be wrong)
2) I’ve read that there are some questions like “How would you teach the differences between a headache and a sore throat to a foreign learner, and how do you explain why it’s a headache and not a sore head/ throat ache/ vice versa”
I guess what I’m trying to ask is if you can recommend any books or give any tips on how to teach matters like this that comes naturally to us Singaporeans who have it as a First Language.
Thanks alot bro!
There’s some misunderstanding. Everyone thought I was gonna finish with a Pass A but I eventually got a Pass B. Heard it through the grapevine that my first trainer recommended an A but when the Cambridge University assessor asked my second trainer if he agreed with the A grade, he said no. That was why I finished with a B.
Additional qualifications never hurt, so all the best!
1) I’ve never signed up with any agency in particular. All my students are recommendations from people I know. If you think no one is going to actively come to you, you can actively go to them. Tell them what you are looking to do and ask them to inform you if they know anyone. Alternatively, do something for the children. Before I came to Japan, I was focused on helping students from middle-low income families. I self-published essay writing books and provided low-cost tuition and ran a couple of projects, even some free-tuition classes. I sorta operated a social enterprise and got the local newspapers to publish my project which I didn’t have to pay since it wasn’t for profit. That got me a little under 200 students. But since it’s impossible to have time to do private tuition with 200 students, I mainly guided them online.
2) I can’t think of any particular books like that. What I do is rip apart the words and compare it with what little amount of vocabulary I have in my corpus, identify the differences and explain to them. What is important is not the perfect answer, but whether they can grasp the concept easily.
Thanks alot jinhan, your comments have really provided me with some much needed faith in my journey! Quite nervous about CELTA since I’m going to take the Chiang Mai extra package and will be living alone for the first time.
But anyways! I sincerely wish you all the best in the future and I look forward to more posts! I enjoy them all!